


Six Chances

by leveldevil



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Episode Ignis Spoilers, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 15:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11382888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leveldevil/pseuds/leveldevil
Summary: Five times Aranea Highwind could have said she loved Ignis Scientia... And the one time she did.





	1. First time

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a tumblr prompt: "five times my muse says they don’t love yours, and the one time they admit it." Each time is under a separate chapter, with the proper warnings in place. This can be a bit of an AU sometimes, but I hope it's enjoyable nonetheless. Many thanks to Jo for giving me these prompts and inspiring me. :)

Dropping by to help the prince and his friends with all things that went bump in the night was no longer a _surprise_ for them. Prompto always greeted her cheerfully, while Gladiolus went straight for the innuendo talk and Noctis tried his best to stay sharp and make no mistakes – apparently, she left _quite_ the impression after the Vesperpool. But it was for Ignis’s reactions she waited for the most – and he usually reserved a small but sweet smile whenever she landed near him, sometimes replacing his daggers for a lance so both could attack together.

His smiles and polite nods of head were getting the _best_ out of Aranea – because that night, the red giant’s sword swept her off her feet and she landed near the roadside. Graceless and painful – but it had been the adviser who rushed up to offer his support, crushing a potion and healing the woman without a moment of hesitation.

“Are you always this _kind_ to your enemies?”

“No, but I am to my _allies_ ,” he replied smoothly, the fingertips of a right hand brushing over the injury that had fully disappeared upon his ministrations. The battle had almost ended – the giant was on his knees and Gladiolus was about to deliver the killing blow – and the way Ignis tarried for a moment, with her arm in his hands, didn’t escape her gaze.

“You’re _too_ sweet, Specs. You’ll have a dozen good women offering their eternal love to you when you’re done babysitting Prince Charming.”

“You won’t be there yourself? That’s a pity,” he quipped with an amused look at her words, and Aranea just grinned wickedly.

“I’m _not_ a good woman.”


	2. Second Time

“I might be tempted to exchange my ship for this!”

Ignis offered her a smile in return; the Regalia was quite _something_ indeed, especially during beautiful nights. The sleek vehicle had the elegance of the models no longer produced in Lucis, while retaining the engine efficiency and all the comforts required of newer cars. It was really a pleasure to drive one around – and the dragoon had been more than happy to be taken for a ride.

“Well, the car is part of his majesty’s inheritance. A connection to our former king, in a sense,” Ignis added in a much somber tone, and Aranea _knew_ what it meant; Regis’s death had been the work of cowards and she took no pride of Niflheim’s efforts there. At times like these, the commodore felt the _abyss_ between them grow deeper – how could they pretend that these secret outings were innocent when they both had their allegiances clearly settled?

Well, at least the royal adviser had _his_ …

“I could, however, as the designated driver and caretaker of the vehicle, allow for someone _else_ to take the wheel, as long as I am confident that the guest driver would follow my _every_ command,” he spoke lowly, reducing the speed and finding a good parking spot just after the bridge they had crossed. The woman turned to him, eyes wide with wonder and surprise, leaning over to cover his hand with hers when he moved to unfasten the seat belts. “You’re _serious_?”

“I am.”

“Damn, I could _kiss_ you for this, Ignis,” she said and the adviser coughed politely, looking very much pleased with the offer but assuming the gentlemanly role expected of him when he stepped out of the car and waited until Aranea was behind the wheel to take over the shotgun seat. Before she turned on the car, he reached over and placed the belt in place, giving her an _infuriating_ smirk.

“Remember, you have to follow my every command.”

“Why, are you going to _command_ me to leave the Empire, work for Noctis and marry you too?” she asked with a chuckle, but Ignis just regarded her with a mysterious gaze in his eye before wordlessly allowing her to take the car for a spin. “Perhaps.”

“You drive a _hard_ bargain for a test drive, Specs.”

“Don’t I always?”


	3. Third Time

“So you guys are going to Altissia.”

Ignis appeared to be surprised at her words; but Aranea merely chuckled at his expressions and waved a hand, freeing him of any guilt related to whatever he thought he had messed up. “Come on, Iggy. Give me _some_ credit. I know I’m brute force but I have some brains… Lunafreya is there and the army’s gotta move to Accordo soon. The marriage thing is still going strong.”

The adviser appeared to be more at ease after her words; it made indeed sense for her guess – once it had been declared that both the prince and the oracle had survived the treaty signing, the hopes for the wedding were restored and the work resumed. It was no longer a secret that the army was very interested in that too, and just how much they’d be able to interfere would depend on the _permission_ from the Accordian first secretary.

“Yes, we are. You have unknowingly _helped_ us, even. That was the reason we required the mythril and you so kindly assisted us.”

“By ‘kindly’ you mean ‘having the chancellor telling me to’, then yeah. I’m the _kindest_ woman you ever met,” she laughed while looking at the night scenery, away from the lights of Old Lestallum. They had met there, and climbed to the rooftop of the motel. They could talk freely there, as well as enjoy some peace and quiet away from Ignis’s friends and her men _without_ a lot of difficult questions.

“You _are_ one of the kindest women I’ve ever met,” he replied softly, holding her gaze when Aranea turned to look at him; Ignis meant it – _every_ word. And how could he think that she was kind when he had been working for the side causing nothing but _misery_ to his prince? Well, she wasn’t the paragon of loyalty, sure, but…

“You sure have a _twisted_ notion of kindness, handsome,” she commented eventually, seeing his serious look morphing into one of quiet amusement; but he shook his head and pushed his glasses into place. “Kindness has many forms, as does _love_. One could go an entire life without realizing that or even having the chance to witness them all.”

“Yeah, I bet I’m one of them. I don’t do kindness or love easily, honey,” she inched closer to the adviser, he breath ghosting over his ear, “No one can _survive_ Niflheim by being partial to either of these things.”


	4. Fourth Time

The night Aranea appeared in Cape Caem just before they set sail to Altissia had surprised _everyone_ – especially Talcott, who still had the fresh memories of just how the Empire treated those who opposed them. It had taken a _lot_ of talking and assuring from Noctis and especially Ignis for the boy to stay in the same room with the commodore – but he still regarded her with uneasiness and fear.

And for the first time, Aranea realized that she _didn’t_ enjoy that. She took no pleasure of making innocent children afraid of her; she was made for the battle and for where confrontation was _honest_ – not this. Not civilians, not kids. She had been one of them and it hit _too_ close to home for her to feel comfortable.

But her visit had a noble cause – she came to tell them everything she knew about the Empire’s plans for Altissia. Any _leverage_ they could get of it, fine – she was done with Niflheim. She was really close to cutting her ties with the emperor, but she was _responsible_ for her men, too. Aranea needed to do this smartly otherwise everything would end badly for her and the rest of their unit and she’d no longer be helpful.

It had been a surprise alright, but no one actually thought she had been lying. Biggs and Wedge were welcomed inside later and they did a small _celebration_ of sorts, with whatever food they had grown and the booze from the nearest outpost. Prompto took pictures, Noctis actually made a nice playlist from his phone and Gladiolus started a truth or dare game that no one would have joined under _normal_ circumstances or sober.

The empty beer bottle spun – Ignis and Aranea. Some hushed murmurs of excitement reached her ears, because… Well. Of _course_ there would be rumors. They had interacted a bit too much than people would have expected, and Ignis had been sneaking away during the nights whenever a red ship appeared in the sky (but Gladiolus had told _no one_ about that).

Aranea’s face was all about defiance. Knowing any dare would be too easy for the dragoon, Ignis then opted for something less than orthodox when she predictably picked ‘dare’.

“I dare you to tell the _truth_ , Aranea.”

“That’s not in the rules!”

“You’re complaining about someone _bending_ the rules?”

“Damn you, Specs. Okay, fine, go ahead with your _silly_ truth question.”

“Do you _love_ anyone, present company included?”

Silence – utter and complete. No one had expected Ignis to be so bold, but then again most of their conversation would be _forgotten_ in the morning. Aranea appeared to be shocked, but she recovered quickly and smirked in that very particular way of hers. “Yeah, handsome,” a wink, “ _Myself_.”


	5. Fifth Time

“We’ll be assisting with the evacuation efforts. There’s little we can do to help Noct otherwise,” he explained to Aranea, both drinking coffee at one of Altissia’s cafés and hidden in _plain_ sight – different clothes, decked in the fashion of the protectorate’s capital and away from the main streets. No one seemed to spare them a second glance, not even the few armed Niflheim guards they had seen earlier.

“Gotcha. So you got Claustra’s support. Well done, always heard she was quite the _bitch_ to deal with,” Aranea mused over her cup, concealing a devilish grin when Ignis offered her a mildly surprised look over her _language_. All these months of secret outings and dalliances under the moonlight and he _still_ worried about her vocabulary.

“Oh, live a little, Iggy. The sky’s not gonna fall on your head or anything if you use a _bad_ word,” she said with a laugh, and Ignis appeared to be even further mortified by her suggestion, although he smiled in the end. That was more connected to the fact that Aranea had _laughed_ – and let their hands touch over the table in a way that had been no accident. When the adviser linked their fingers, she made no move to pull away.

“Well, it’s a strange moment for the world we live in. Astrals are communicating with mankind, an impenetrable city was conquered, a fearsome dragoon warrior has decided to aid us in our quest…” and at that, Aranea just stared at Ignis with an _amused_ expression, although half of it was covered by the sunglasses she used and which she had slid down her nose so she could actually hold the adviser’s gaze.

“So me helping your sorry asses is on the same _level_ of a fucking astral rising from the seas?”

“Indeed it is,” Ignis replied, rising her hand and placing a soft kiss on her knuckles, doing all that without breaking eye contact, “You wanted to _kill_ us upon our first meeting, and yet now we have secured your affections _and_ love.”

“That’s _not_ true!” she retorted with a laugh, removing her fingers to curl them into her fist and them bumping Ignis’s closest arm with them, “I’m doing what’s _right_ , damn it.”

“So are the astrals.”


	6. Sixth Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the Episode Ignis trailer.

“Step away from him. _Now_!”

Ardyn turned around, a smile gracing his ever-confident features. He sidestepped a few troopers on the ground, approaching the commodore that was the perfect definition of a _war_ goddess – her spear was ready, her eyes burning with pure, undiluted _rage_ and her body was one second from snapping into the air and crushing the chancellor with the weight of her lance.

“Ah, my dear dragoon. You think you’re fit to give _me_ orders now?” he queried in an almost cheerful tone, but a dismissive hand actually sent the nearby soldiers into motion, retreating to someplace else. Ardyn took step after step until he was in front of the spear, fingertip against the sharp end of the magitek weapon – and then traced it all the way _back_ to Aranea’s hands, letting go of her with a small chuckle.

“But you needn’t have worried, my _love_. I hav-“

“Do _NOT_ call me that, you bastard!”

“Oh? _Touchy_ , aren’t we?” Ardyn chuckled, circling the commodore and bowing to her as someone who politely bid her goodbye, “But as I said, you need not worry about disobeying the chain of command. I’m _quite_ finished here, as it were… You’re welcome to help yourself to the _spoils_ of the war, my dear.”

A small laugh followed, what sounded sick and wrong to her ears; but Aranea ran forward, spear dropping to the side and knees hitting the floor as fast as she could when her hands reached for the _fallen_ body of the adviser on the ground. She wiped the blood away from his face, gasping in shock when she saw the extent of his wounds.

“Specs? Shit, _Ignis_ , can you hear me?” he only grunted, appearing vaguely conscious of anyone speaking to him. He recoiled from her touches – and that broke her heart in a _million_ pieces, making her eyes burn hotly with tears that were begging to be shed. “Ignis, it’s alright, it’s Aranea. I’m taking you to safety, I’m taking you home…”

She quickly produced a vial of an elixir – and crushed it, healing some of his cuts and quickly using the white fabric of her uniform to clean it all. But his eyes… _Nothing_ happened to his eyes, and the commodore panicked. What? What kind of injury _didn’t_ heal like that? “Ignis, can you hear me?”

“A-Aranea?”

“Yes, yes! What happened to you? How did this… _Fuck_ ,” she cursed, and Ignis moved against her, his hands searching for something – and then it dawned on her that he couldn’t see anything, and that his fingers were trying to help him piece the things together, because her voice was completely different, mixed with grief, anger and all the sadness, coupled with the tears he found streaming down from her face.

“Are you… _Hurt_?”

“No, I’m fine!” she replied, looking around and seeing no one else around – just fallen troopers and other bodies; it was an _ugly_ battle zone and she needed to take Ignis out of there, take him someplace else where he’d be safe until the rest of his friends could go to him. Because now… Aranea needed to _run_ , fast. Everyone would know she was no longer part of the army and Bahamut knew what Ardyn had in store for her after _threatening_ him. But when she saw it, when the bombs landed and she ran from Ignis… She couldn’t help…

“I’m _so_ sorry Ignis, I’m such a fucking stupid… Urgh,” she groaned, and raised him in her arms. The adviser appeared to be confused by the role reversal, but Aranea _could_ take it – she was strong and she had trained to use a fucking huge magitek lance; she could carry Ignis’s body to safety. He blindly clung to her, seeking some kind of support while she started a bumpy trek for Claustra’s estate – there he should be safe. There wasn’t _much_ of Altissia standing, anyway.

“You did nothing, Aranea… _Ardyn_ , he was the one who-“

“Precisely! I did _nothing_! I fucking watched it all until it was _too late_!” she retorted angrily, shaking her head to wipe the tears away because her hands were too busy at the moment; but he came to her help, sensing the distress and moving his hand over to her face, cleaning it from tears slowly, and almost making Aranea break down into an ugly mess of sobs and tears right then with his damn _kindness_.

“Aranea… You _saved_ my life, as far as I know. Ardyn’s… motivations, as dark as they might be… Are not to be _blamed_ on you…”

“Ignis, please… Don’t spare my feelings. _Not you_ ,” she swallowed hard, but kept going, finding the remnants of a bridge and crossing over the channel, her lance forgotten at where she had found Ignis. She’d come back for it later, “Not when I’ve hurt _you_ so much. I don’t _deserve_ your kindness.”

“You deserve it most than anyone…” he replied in a shaky breath, “As well as my _love_.”

“ _Don’t_ talk of love. Not to me, not when…” she couldn’t take it – she fell to the ground, kneeling over rubble and debris while hugging Ignis against her body; her armor was sharp and uncomfortable, but somehow he found a way to return it, embracing and _comforting_ her when Aranea thought she _least_ deserved it. It was so warped and twisted, so fucking painful…

This was _not_ how it should have gone.

“Not when everything I _love_ ends up suffering and paying for _my_ sins.”

She was sobbing; an ugly and hot mess of tears into his neck, and Ignis appeared to be in _shock_ ; Aranea only stopped crying when his hands found her face and she understood that he wanted to speak to her, to look at her even though his eyesight had been damaged – and the effort he must have done to get her attention should have been _immense_ , because he was panting and biting his lips to keep moaning from pain.

Ignis Scientia was the fucking _bravest_ man she had ever known at that moment.

“There’s no love… _Without_ pain, Aranea. I’ll endure mine if… If you’ll hold onto yours.”

These last words seemed to rob him of consciousness; his body relaxed in her arms and Aranea cried, incapable of stifling the screams and hugging him against her tightly. But the raindrops on her head and the cold water along her skin brought her _rational_ side back, and once more the dragoon rose from the ground, the unconscious form of the adviser in her arms while she resumed her journey.

This time, _nothing_ stopped her – Ignis had promised her to do his part; she would do hers. She’d _hunt_ down every magitek facility, she’d mess with each and every plan of the chancellor, she’d destroy the Empire from inside out and have they _pay_ for their crimes.

There was no other way to atone – she could only hope that, one day, Ignis would be indeed as _kind_ as he had always been to _forgive_ her.

**THE END**


End file.
